A mostly unbiased college football blog.

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1. Michigan: Hard to beat the quality and quantity at Tight End for the Wolverines. Jake Butt is one of the top Tight Ends in the nation standing 6 foot 6 inches and weighing about 250 pounds. He has deceptive speed, has great hands and the ability to get open.

Tyrone Wheatley Jr is obviously the son of a Michigan Legend, only the son is a lot taller than his dad was. Junior is about 6-6, 280 and he may out grow the Tight End position eventually, but he can run for his size.

Ian Bunting is even taller at 6-7, and he weighs about 245. Both are excellent blockers and receivers. Khalid Hill is only 6-2, but he is 270 and the designated blocker.

Henry Poggi is a Tight End/H Back and is 6-4, 275. Last year, Michigan recruited 6-7, 245 Zach Gentry a Quarterback from New Mexico and he has been shifted to Tight End. He can run really well for his size.

The Wolverines signed some very good Tight End prospects with their 2016 class with Devin Asiasi, Nick Eubanks and Sean McKeon. To be blunt, the Michigan Wolverines are simply loaded at Tight End.

2. Georgia: The Bulldogs have some outstanding Tight Ends starting with junior Jeb Blazevich who will be in his third year as a starter. Blazevich caught 15 passes last year as a sophomore after catching 18 as a true freshman. The 6-5, 250 Blazevich is also a good blocker, or he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup.

Jackson Harris is a talented sophomore that saw action as a true freshman. While he only caught 4 passes, he still showed a lot of potential, plus he is 6-6, 245.

Jordan Davis didn’t see a lot of action, but he can play if needed. The Bulldogs signed the top Tight End prospect in the country in the 2016 recruiting class in Isaac Nauta. The 5 star Tight End from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida is 6-4, 235 and enrolled early at Georgia and he looked really good in the Spring Game.

3. Arkansas: The Razorbacks had the best Tight End in the country last year in Hunter Henry, but he left a year early for the NFL and he was a 2nd round draft pick.

However, not all is lost for the Hogs. His back up last season, Jeremy Sprinkles, was a talent in his own right and he should emerge as a star this season.They also have a total of 9 Tight Ends on the

roster and even if some of those are walk-on players the depth is still there.

Anthony Antwine is a junior that has started one game and plays mostly special teams. Jake Hall moved from the Defensive Line to Tight End. He is 6-5, 270, so maybe they feel they can use him as a blocking Tight End.

Jack Kraus redshirted in 2014 and did not play in 2015, but he is 6-5, 240 and he has potential.

But, the real talent lies with the guys that redshirted in 2015. CJ O’Grady, Will Gragg, Austin Cantrell and Jamario Bell were all highly recruited and they are all quality talent. O’Grady and Gragg particularly were ranked among the best in the country and Bell was a 4 star Defensive End.

4. Miami: What are the Miami Hurricanes without Tight Ends? Notre Dame, Stanford and Miami are probably the best Tight End schools out there.

David Njoku and Christopher Herndon IV are almost identical in size, strength and speed. Last year, Njoku had 21 receptions and Herndon had 18.

Standish Dobard and Jerome Washington both also return, but between them they only caught 9 passes.

The new coaching staff signed Jovani Haskins from New Jersey which seems to be the favorite location for Miami to recruit Tight Ends.

5. Stanford: This is another program that usually has a good Tight End. It hurt Stanford that last year’s top Tight End, Austin Hooper, declared for the NFL after catching 34 passes last season.

But, the bright side is that they are Stanford and they have up and coming Tight Ends. Dalton Schultz caught 10 passes last season. At 6-6, 235, he has the talent to be the next big thing.

Greg Taboada is also back and he has some experience.

The latest Stanford recruiting class is loaded with Tight Ends starting with one of the very best in the nation. Kaden Smith is a 6-6, 245 talent from Flower Mound, Texas and he was rated as the #2 Tight End in the nation by ESPN. They also signed 4 star Tight End Scooter Harrington who is 6-5, 235 and from Greenwich, Connecticut. They also grabbed a 3 star Tight End from Salt Lake City in LoaKaufusi. He will need a redshirt year to fill out.

Beautiful thing about Tight End recruits is that they can always play other positions. Some of them beef up and move to the Offensive Line. They are athletic enough to play Defensive Line and even Linebacker. Some of them are even fast enough to play Wide Receiver.

6. Oregon: The Ducks are more known for Wide Receivers, but this year they will have some good ones at Tight End, too.

Pharaoh Brown is back after missing the last year and a half. Read more about Brown here: Pharaoh Brown

When healthy, Brown is about as good as anyone.

Evan Baylis became the starter at Tight End while Brown was injured, and he is also back and he is a pretty good option.

Johnny Mundt is back for his senior season. His best season was actually his true freshman year.

Redshirt freshmen Ryan Bay and Jacob Breeland could be the future of the position with true freshman Cam McCormick also in the mix.

7. Alabama: Of course Alabama has talent and the Tight End position is no different. OJ Howard showed the world in the national championship game what kind of talent he possesses. Howard caught 38 passes last season with 2 Touchdowns and both of those coming in the championship game. Howard is 6-6, 245 and can run like a Wide Receiver.

OJ Howard alone is enough to put Alabama on this list.

Hale Hentges is another Tight End, but he’s more of a blocker.

Dakota Ball is also on the roster, but there was talk of moving to defense. Brandon Greene is bigger than many Offensive Linemen at about 310, but he is generally a blocker.

Recruits Irvin Smith and Miller Forristall will be eligible in the Fall. Smith was highly rated, but Forristall was a 6-5, 220 3 star prospect from Georgia. He looks like a sleeper with a future to me.

8. Florida State: The Seminoles were a little lost at the Tight End position for some of the 2015 season after the loss of long time starter Nick O’Leary. Ryan Izzo and Mavin Saunders shared the

position, but between them they caught 20 passes. Izzo really came on in the Spring and should be the man in the Fall with Saunders right there behind him.

The Noles moved Defensive End Chris Casher over to Tight End and he played well in the Spring.

Jeremy Kerr is a 6-6, 265 sophomore that only caught 1 pass last year, but he could help in the run game.

9. Michigan State: The Spartans have to break in a new Quarterback since Connor Cook is gone. But, the new Quarterback will have some quality Tight Ends to work with.

Josiah Price might be the best Tight End in the rich history of Michigan State. Over the past 3 years, Price was one of Cook’s favorite receivers and he has 16 Touchdowns from 66 receptions.

Jamal Lyles is also back at Tight End. He caught 8 passes last season, but he’s a great athlete that can block. In the Spring, he even played some at Defensive Ends.

Dylan Chmura plays Tight End, but can also play Fulback. Matt Sokol is another Tight End, but he has not played a lot as of yet.

With the 2016 recruiting class, the Spartans signed Noah Davis from Cincinnati. He’s only rated as a 3 star, but Jack Conklin was not even rated and he was the 8th guy taken in last year’s recruiting class.

10. Clemson: The Tigers are loaded at so many positions and Tight End is no different. Jordan Leggett is one of the top Tight Ends in the country and especially as a receiver. He had 40 receptions last year which were good for 535 yards and 8 Touchdowns.

Herschel Walker’s nephew, Milan Richard, and Cannon Smith may be the top back ups. One would think that Walker’s nephew would be an elite athlete.

DJ Greenlee and Garrett Williams are also Tight Ends for Clemson and hopefully ready to JC Chalk from Texas. Chalk is the grandson of former Alabama coach Gene Stallings, but he was solid with the Tigers the entire recruiting process.

contribute. The Tigers signed

11. Minnesota: The Gophers use their Tight Ends pretty well with Maxx Williams being the nation’s top Tight End two years ago. Last year, Brandon Lingen caught 33 passes for 428 yards and 3 Touchdowns. Lingen is about 6-5, 250 but he is tiny compared to Nate Wozniak who is 6-10, 270. I blogged about Wozniak here: Wozniak

The Gophers also have Nick Hart who caught 9 passes a year ago.

Noah Scarver is also back, but at 6-5, 275 he is more of a blocking Tight End. That’s fine because

the Gophers love to run the football.

Minnesota also has redshirt freshmen Colton Beebe and Bryce Witham will be available in the Fall.

12. Pittsburgh: Scott Orndoff is a returning starter for the Pitt Panthers, wisely opting to return for his senior season. Over his 3 seasons, he has 23 receptions to his credit which obviously is not a lot. But, he is 6-5, 265 and has enormous potential in both the running and the passing game.

Jaymar Parrish is also back and he started at both Tight End and Fullback. He hasn’t been thrown to a lot, but he is a great blocker at 6-2, 270.

Devon Edwards played in very game in 2014, but very little in 2015. He is back for 2016.

Zach Poker was a back up Defensive End last season, but can play Tight End.

Chris Clark is a transfer from UCLA that was the top rated Tight End in the country when he signed with UCLA. His name on the roster alone is enough to place Pittsburgh on this list, if he sticks around.

13 USC:Taylor McNamara is the starter and he caught 12 passes a year ago. Tyler Petite also played and had more receptions than McNamara with 15.

Daniel Imatorbhebhe might be the star of the future for the Trojans.

Cary Angeline will join the Trojans in the summer. He’s a 4 star Tight End from Pennsylvania that is around 6-7, 230.